Local & State Headlines

Jobless rate up in area

• Job losses slow in Lee, Worth and Baker counties in July.

Susan McCord

ALBANY — Unemployment in metro Albany followed a statewide upward trend last month, rising 0.5 percent to 6.7, according to the Georgia Department of Labor.

Statewide unemployment hit a 15-year high in July of 6.2 percent, topping the U.S. rate for a sixth straight month.

“We are experiencing a rising tide of unemployment not seen in Georgia in more than 15 years. The surge of jobless workers into our career centers is challenging our ability to keep pace with the demand for assistance, at a time when it is most needed,” Georgia Labor Commissioner Michael Thurmond said.

Metro Albany’s civilian labor force grew by 1,200 workers in July to 77,524, while the area lost 600 jobs, primarily in state and local government, according to labor department data.

In Dougherty County, where half of metro Albany’s workforce resides, 389 workers became unemployed last month and the unemployment rate increased by 0.8 percent to 7.5.

In Terrell County, 53 people became unemployed and the unemployment rate increased by 1 percent to 7.3.

In Lee, 22 workers lost their jobs, while the unemployment rate held steady at 4.8 percent.

In Baker County, only one worker became unemployed last month, and the unemployment rate remained at 6.1 percent.

Worth County showed no increase in unemployment last month, and the unemployment rate dropped 0.1 percent to 6.4 percent.

Summer job losses in state and local government typically can be attributed to seasonal education jobs — bus drivers, cafeteria workers — that are refilled when school resumes, labor department spokesman Sam Hall has said.

Dougherty Schools spokesman R.D. Harter said that despite systemwide budget cuts, the schools’ employment levels have not decreased over previous years.

“We have a full complement, as far as instructional staff and support staff,” Harter said.

The school system is one of metro Albany’s 10 largest employers, joined by the city of Albany, Cooper Tire, Dougherty County, Lee County Schools, Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital, Procter & Gamble, Marine Corps Logistics Base-Albany, Wal-Mart and Worth County Schools, according to the Labor Department.

One recent change may help more Georgians acquire skills needed to enter the workforce, said Betty Steel, Education Career Partnership Manager for Albany Technical College.

A cap removed from Hope scholarship funding for dual-enrolled high school students will allow more students to afford the secondary training at Albany Tech, Steel said.

The college’s job placement rate for graduates is above 90 percent, she said.

Still, many Albany employers reach outside Albany to find skilled workers.

“There are jobs out there — you have to have the skills to get the jobs,” Steel said.